One Woman’s Brave – and Controversial – Pursuit of a Presidential Pardon

Attorney Victoria Broussard takes on injustice all the way to the White House

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, October 25, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Texas attorney Victoria Broussard has a mission, and it’s one that isn’t designed to make her popular.

“It seems that today, people just watch news bites that are force-fed to them and then robotically regurgitate those one-sided reports as their own intractable opinions,” she says. “Contrary to popular belief, watching a talking head on a TV show doesn’t make you a legal expert.” Her mission is to seek out cases of obvious judicial injustice and champion the underdog who has been over-charged with a crime, over-sentenced, over-punished, and in dire need of an advocate.

Broussard spent her youth on the receiving end of injustices to such an extent that they forged her lifelong passion to bring justice to those who haven’t received it in court. “I know it sounds cliché,” she says, “but my strongest desire is to right wrongs for those in most need of it.” A lifelong advocate, her favorite quote is by Edmund Burke: The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Broussard graduated from the University of Texas with her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and went on to earn her Doctorate of Jurisprudence – with honors – from Texas Southern University. While at TSU, she also served as the Executive Editor of the Law Review where she authored Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition: Legislators Push for Policy Direction to Protect the Age of Innocence While the Court Turns a Deaf Ear.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, she spent much of her young life moving all over the world during her mother’s twenty-year tenure in the United States Air Force. What should have been an idyllic youth was shattered when the young Victoria found herself the victim of sexual abuse. With the resulting firsthand knowledge of sexual predators and their victims, she grew to adulthood with an overwhelming urge to protect children from the clutches of their abusers.

Broussard’s passion for healing hurts caused by childhood sexual abuse prompted her to create a nonprofit organization called B'yond the Unveiling, which is dedicated to the pursuit of eradicating childhood sexual abuse through a comprehensive “out-of-the-box” approach that treats survivors, but also gives attention to the elephant in the room, those who commit sex crimes against innocent, unsuspecting children.

“My quest for justice goes beyond advocating only for victims,” she says. “My avocation goes to the root of childhood sexual abuse – pedophilia. Then and only then can a future free of childhood sexual abuse begin to come into view. The system is flawed and, ironically, if rehabilitation versus incarceration is not the order of the day, the system will eventually turn perpetrators into victims themselves and a vicious cycle ensues.”

When learning about Broussard, perhaps the most shocking aspect is her taking on the case of Dr. Malachi York and her fervent representation of him.

“Although Dr. York refutes the superseding indictment charges, he was imprisoned after being found guilty on various RICO and structuring money charges in 2004,” she explains. “For the past 10 years, he has been housed at Florence ADX, a supermax prison reserved for the most hardened, violent criminals, of which he is not.”

The shocking aspect of this case is that York is himself accused of child molestation. “Several of the RICO charges accused him of transporting minors across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, to which he has steadfastly and vehemently maintained he is innocent of. I know as a survivor of child sexual abuse, people expect me to shy away from representing a man accused of these crimes. However, I have serious doubts about the guilty verdict, which was actually a hung verdict before the judge informed the dissenting juror, who believed Mr. York was being framed, that she could easily be replaced.”

Although she frequently finds herself on the receiving end of Internet trolling and name-calling, and as the fight for York’s freedom intensifies, so do threats to her well-being and livelihood, Broussard remains steadfast in her legal belief that York’s sentence should be reduced – whether innocent or not of the crimes he was accused of – in light of the recent trends towards rational, corrective, and reformative sentencing advocated by the Obama Administration.

Prior to his conviction, Broussard describes York as a pillar of society, consistently giving thousands of dollars to charity, feeding the homeless, and transforming downtrodden communities. Today, he is 71 years old and suffers from a life-threatening illness, Hereditary Angioedema, for which the Federal Bureau of Prisons neglects to provide him with any of the FDA prescribed medications to lessen and prevent the attacks, leaving him frequently found by unsympathetic guards unconscious on his concrete cell floor.

Broussard’s continued passion for justice impelled her to seek a Presidential commutation for York, and is in the midst of her formal presentation to the White House Pardon Attorney’s office. She also created an electronic petition on Change.org and hopes people will read the facts of the case and be inspired to replenish confidence in the criminal justice system by signing in support of York’s freedom, which she hopes will be considered by President Obama before he leaves office on January 20, 2017.

“I get how unnerving my representation of Dr. York may be for many,” she says. “I encourage people to go to Change.org, search ‘Broussard,’ and read and sign the ‘Free Malachi York’ petition. I took such a controversial case because I am an attorney who took an oath of office that I would discharge my duties to my clients to the best of my ability, which means serving them with integrity and all the intestinal fortitude I possess.”

Broussard also encourages people to contact her with their own examples of justice denied at victoria@broussardlegal.com or see: broussardlegal.com

Donna Wick
Donna Wick PR/ WICKed Publicity
832-993-1604
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